


Home for the Holidays

by Ims0s0rry



Series: Into the Yara-verse [1]
Category: Jane the Virgin (TV)
Genre: F/F, Family Shenanigans, Fluff, Gen, Secret Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:27:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28278390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ims0s0rry/pseuds/Ims0s0rry
Summary: Luisa invites Rose home over winter break to meet her family, but somehow forgets to tell her a key fact about her older sisters.For Roisa Secret Santa 2020
Relationships: Luisa Alver/Rose Solano
Series: Into the Yara-verse [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2143410
Comments: 12
Kudos: 9





	Home for the Holidays

**Author's Note:**

> For @youcanputanythinghere on tumblr!
> 
> Happy Roisa Secret Santa! My prompt was Rose meeting Luisa's sisters, Paula Reyes and Ms. Lint. I hope I did it justice!
> 
> Thanks to aparticularbandit for pulling off another successful Roisa Secret Santa!
> 
> I apologize for any inaccuracies about Cuban holiday traditions. Please let me know if I need to change anything.

“I really don’t know about this,” Rose says, even as she pulls out her tape measure to make sure her suitcase fits the carry-on dimensions.

Luisa brushes by her, throwing sweatpants into her duffel bag willy-nilly. “Your parents are in Greece. Did you really think I was gonna let you spend Christmas all by yourself?”

Rose frowns. “I would’ve been fine! I love watching Hallmark reruns and eating Chinese food by myself.”

Luisa pauses in her “packing” to clap her hands on Rose’s shoulders. “As…fun as that sounds,” she says, wrinkling her nose, “my family has specifically invited you to stay with us. You can watch Hallmark reruns and eat Chinese food on _our_ couch.”

Rose lets out a long, agonized sigh as her shoulders slump. “You know I can’t do that because they don’t even know who I am and I want to make a good impression so I’m gonna spend the whole time singing carols or whatever the fuck you guys do for the holidays and forcing a smile so hard, my face is stuck in resting bitch mode for a week afterwards.”

Luisa rolls her eyes, a fond grin starting at one corner of her mouth. “You are so dramatic. I’ve told them about you. We’ve been dating for a few months now. This is like the natural progression of a heterosexual relationship and you know they move…so…slow. Besides, you’ll like my family and they’ll like you.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Don’t pout.”

“I’m not pouting!” Rose says, definitely pouting.

Luisa stands on her tiptoes to give her a quick kiss before she goes back to jamming as many sweatpants as possible into her bag. “Relax. _I_ like you, so they’ll like you. They’re just like me.”

“I can barely live with you; I don’t know how I’m gonna survive being trapped in a house with four of you.”

Luisa throws a pair of balled up socks at her. They bounce off her nose.

“Hey!”

“You deserved that.”

* * *

“Oh,” Rose breathes as the Uber slows to a stop in front of a New Jersey brownstone. It’s not terribly big or imposing, but being here in person makes it so much more real.

“You okay, babe?” Luisa asks.

“Uh…yeah, just give me a second.”

“It’s okay, Rose,” Luisa says, her duffel bag slung over one shoulder and Rose’s small suitcase in one hand. She gives Rose her other hand. “There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

Rose swallows, but takes Luisa’s offered hand anyway.

“Thanks!” Luisa says to the Uber driver, waving her off, and guides Rose up the stairs.

The first inkling Rose has that Luisa was, in fact, wrong and she was right to be scared is when the door is violently flung open before they even reach the top step.

“My baby!” Mrs. Alver, presumably, shouts, throwing her arms around Luisa.

“Hi Mami,” Luisa says, dropping Rose’s suitcase to hug her mom back with one arm.

“Hi Mrs. Alver,” Rose says, tightening her hold on Luisa’s hand. Her family isn’t physically affectionate at all and being this close to a mom that hugs her kid when she comes home is making Rose seize up a little in fear.

“No no, none of that. Call me Mia.”

“Mom, this is my girlfriend, Rose. Rose, this is my mom.”

And to Rose’s horror, Mia wraps her up in a hug too. This is where Luisa must get her grip strength from, she realizes, because she’s having a little trouble breathing from how tightly Mia is squeezing her.

“My goodness, Lu,” Mia says when she pulls back from the hug, although her hands still clutch at Rose’s upper arms. “She’s all skin and bones!”

“Mom,” Luisa starts, “no, don’t—”

But it’s too late. Rose shoots Luisa a panicked look as she’s dragged inside by her mom.

“I’m going to make sure you pack on some much-needed pounds during the holiday. I can’t imagine what you two are eating now that you’re no longer on the school’s meal plan. I keep having nightmares that Luisa’s huddled in front of her laptop eating uncooked taco shells and Vienna sausages right from the can. You’re probably in the same boat, poor dear.”

“Really Mia, it’s not that bad—” Rose tries to say, but it’s obvious she isn’t listening.

“You know I’d cook for both of you at least once a week if you lived closer but why Luisa insisted on Miami is beyond me. It’s so far away.”

“Mom, you know they have a great psychology program,” Luisa says, folding her arms and leaning against the kitchen doorway.

Mia pushes Rose down into a seat at the kitchen table before she whips out a pan and fires up the stove. Rose mouths “help me” to Luisa in the doorway as she’s forced to sit, but comes face to face with…Luisa?

The Luisa sitting across from her winces sympathetically and sets her mug very precisely on a coaster. “She gave you the standard ‘you’re too skinny’ spiel too, huh?”

Rose looks up at the Luisa standing in the kitchen doorway and then back at the Luisa sitting at the table opposite her. She’s just about to say something when a third Luisa stomps into the kitchen and starts ransacking the cupboards.

“Where’s the chai tea I bought last week? You guys _know_ I can’t sleep without it. If I find out someone drank it all, I will personally hook you up to a medieval torture device and send 10,000 volts of electricity through your—” She cuts herself off when she turns around and sees Rose, whose gaze is darting between the three of them. Rose feels a little dizzy. “Why is there a random white girl in our house?”

“Don’t be rude,” Mia chides. “This is Luisa’s girlfriend, Rose. I told you about her. She’s the one whose parents abandoned her for the holidays.”

“Mom!” Doorway Luisa ( _her_ Luisa, Rose is pretty sure. Maybe) says. “They didn’t abandon her. They just…lost track of time on vacation.”

“That’s what I said!” Mia says.

The vertigo has gotten worse. “I think I’m having a stroke,” Rose whispers.

The Luisa sitting across from her springs into action, practically leaping over the table, key-ring in hand, to shine a mini flashlight in Rose’s eyes. “Look at me, look at me. Are you having trouble seeing? Do you have any numbness or weakness in any of your limbs? Are you dizzy?”

“Oh my god, calm down,” Doorway Luisa says, pulling Table Luisa off Rose and shoving back her into her chair. “She’s fine. She’s just being dramatic.”

Rose blinks, trying to clear the spots from her vision. “You’re Luisa,” she mumbles to herself, pointing at both of them, “but you’re also Luisa. And you’re Luisa too?” She points at Cupboard Luisa.

Mia grimaces and stops her banging and clanking at the stove to turn around and address the room. “Baby, you didn’t tell Rose you’re a triplet, did you?”

“I told her I had two older sisters but the whole triplet thing…didn’t really come up,” Doorway Luisa admits, although she’s no longer Doorway Luisa now that she’s taken a seat at the table as well.

“Oh,” Rose says faintly. “That would’ve cleared a few things up, yes.”

“Really, Luisa,” Mia says, disapproval clear in her voice, “not even a framed photo of your own family in your apartment?”

“I don’t know, Mom,” Formerly known as Doorway Luisa says, shrugging mulishly, “it’s kinda hard to think about spending money for those homey touches when you’re eating ramen every day!”

Despite being 5’5” at the very most, Mia puffs up until she vaguely resembles a dragon. “I knew it!”

Cupboard Luisa sighs. “Now you’ve done it. She’s going to feed us until we have to be rolled out of the house.”

“And what’s wrong with making sure my girls are all properly fed?” Mia demands. It is very, very easy for Rose to imagine smoke trailing from the nostrils of this woman that she met ten minutes ago.

“Nothing, nothing,” Cupboard Luisa says, raising her hands in a sign of pacifism. “Just want to point out that some of us are not starving far from home and maybe don’t need to be stuffed to capacity during winter break to stave off malnutrition or something. That’s all.”

“Lighten up, Janet. You know it makes Mom feel better to have everyone in the kitchen where she can keep an eye on us. And isn’t that what the holidays are really about?” Stroke Prevention Luisa says.

Rose’s Luisa rolls her eyes. “Of course you’d say that, Paula. You’re such a suck up.”

“Oh yeah?” Paula says. “Maybe I wouldn’t be such a suck up if I wasn’t the only one helping Mom out ever!”

Janet finger guns. “And that’s my cue to leave. Nice meeting you, Rose. You’re in for a treat this next week.”

“Don’t scare her!” Mia calls after her as Paula and Luisa start to ineffectually slap-fight. “Girls, no scuffling at the table!”

Now that Rose knows she’s not hallucinating, she does realize that there are key differences between the three of them. Janet has a faint scar over one eye and her hair is much darker than either sisters’, and is currently pulled back into a tight braid. Paula has blond highlights and is dressed in much more muted colors than Luisa. Now that she knows what to look for, it’s obvious which one is Luisa.

In record time, Mia sets a huge plate of arroz con pollo on the table. Paula and Luisa, who have been quietly fighting behind Mia’s back, abruptly stop and sit with their backs stick-straight in their respective chairs.

“Luisa, can you call your sister to the table?” Mia asks.

Luisa leans back in her chair and screams down the hallway. “JANET, DINNER!”

Mia sighs. “Thank you, baby, but I could’ve done that myself.”

Once Janet slouches her way into the kitchen, plates and utensils are handed out. They’re all digging in when Mia says, “So Rose, what are you majoring in? Luisa’s told us about you but I’m afraid she hasn’t been very specific.”

“Oh, um, sorry. This is really good, Mia.” Rose struggles to swallow before she says, “I’m double majoring in poli sci and international relations. I want to go to law school, hopefully do something in international law.”

“Is there a certain country or area you’d like to focus on?”

Rose shrugs. “I don’t really know. It’s too early to tell, but I’ve been taking advanced Spanish classes for the last few semesters so maybe somewhere in Latin America?”

Mia nods. “Of course. And you’re all just sophomores. There’s plenty of time to figure things out.”

“So, what do you guys do?” Rose asks, addressing Paula and Janet.

“I’m pre-med, with a concentration in physiology,” Paula says with no small amount of pride in her voice. “I’ve been planning to be a surgeon since first grade.”

Mia beams, but Luisa and Janet exchange eye rolls.

“You’re such an overachieving firstborn,” Luisa mutters.

“Paula’s oldest?” Rose asks.

“By a whole minute and thirteen seconds,” Paula says preening.

“Janet’s the middle child and Luisa’s my baby,” Mia says, reaching out to pinch Luisa’s cheek.

“And the obvious favorite,” Janet grumbles.

“No!” Mia protests. “I love all my girls equally!”

Rose, sensing impending awkwardness, jumps in. “What do you do, Janet?”

“I’m graduating from the local trade school in the spring with my electrician’s license,” she replies shortly.

“Oh, my Janet can do anything when it comes to all those fiddly devices. It’s like she has a magic touch.”

“Mooom,” Janet whines, but under her faint blush, she looks pleased. “It’s not a big deal.”

“It is a big deal! I’m so proud of you, all of you, even if it does get hard with some of my girls being so far away.”

Paula places her hand over Mia’s. “I promise I’ll look for med schools up here once I’m done with my bachelor’s, Mom.”

“Yeah, I’ll see if maybe there are master’s programs up here too,” Luisa chimes in.

Janet scowls. “I don’t know what you’re getting all worked up about. _I’ll_ still be here. I’m only certified in New Jersey.”

When they’re done eating, Rose hovers at the sink, hoping to win brownie points with Mia for washing the dishes until Mia chases her out of the kitchen with a soapy wooden spoon with a “No guest of mine is going to clean up my messes!”

“Ah, so you’ve met the dreaded Spoon of Punishment,” Luisa says as she wipes down the table. She cranes her neck to peek at Rose cowering behind the couch. Rose must look pretty horrified because she adds, “I’m guessing you didn’t have a Spoon of Punishment growing up.”

“No, it’s definitely a first-generation thing,” Janet says as she cleans the stove.

Mia scoffs from the sink. “Please, my trusty spoon is more of a warning than anything. I hardly ever used it.”

Even Paula, who’s packing away the leftovers at the counter, looks up to share a loaded glance with both of her sisters.

Rose looks between all of them. “You guys never got grounded?”

Janet scoffs. “The only grounding I know about is rods and cables.”

Paula shuts the fridge and settles on the couch. “Grounding is a white people thing,” she says, offering Rose a hand to pull her out from behind the couch. “The Spoon of Punishment was much faster and effective for when we were acting up.”

“Damn right it was,” Mia says gruffly over the clinking of the silverware. “Can you imagine a young widow like me dragging along triplets to the store? If anyone got mouthy, all I had to do was take the Spoon out of my purse and you’d all quiet down. I can’t imagine how the white folks keep their kids in line with a simple ‘you’re grounded when you get home.’”

Luisa grins. “I learned about the effects of corporal punishment last semester. Honestly, it probably traumatized us to some degree, but at least we were well-behaved, right?”

Mia scoffs. “Traumatized? Please. You all turned out fine.”

“That’s debatable, right, Janet?” Luisa says with a smirk.

Janet pokes her.

“Ow! She shocked me!”

“Watch it,” Janet says menacingly, “or your phone might find its processor fried.”

“Mom, she’s threatening me!” Luisa says in that universal sing-song tattletale manner.

“She started it!” Janet says in the same tone.

Mia mutters something in Spanish, so quick and low that the only word Rose can make out is “spoon”. Janet and Luisa glare at each other for a beat before they go back to cleaning.

After she finishes the dishes, Mia writes everyone’s names on little slips of paper and drops them into a bowl. “We’ve been doing Secret Santa since the girls started college,” she explains to Rose. “You’re all broke college students and I will not be bailing anyone out of debt because you decided to go over the $20 limit.”

They all crowd around and pick a piece of paper from the bowl.

“Okay, everyone good? We’ll have some time to grab something tomorrow after we pick up ingredients.”

When it’s time for bed, Mia ushers Rose down the hall toward Luisa’s room.

“Hey! How come Rose can stay in Luisa’s room?” Janet grouses.

“Janita, Rose is a guest. I’m not letting her stay on the couch!” Mia says.

“But you never let Esteban stay over, especially not in my room!”

“That’s because he’s a boy, and also he lives right down the street. He doesn’t have a reason to stay over. Besides, Rose and Luisa are already roommates.”

“This is so unfair!” Janet says, shutting herself in her room.

“Ignore her,” Paula says, handing Rose an extra pillow. “She and Esteban have been dating on and off for the last six years. They’ll be fine for a bit and then they’ll have a huge argument and break up for like a few weeks before they’re back together again. I guess they’re okay right now, but honestly, it’s exhausting to keep up with.”

“Oh,” Rose says, tucking the pillow under an arm. She isn’t sure what to say. “Uh, does he come over a lot?”

“Not really.” Paula shrugs. “They usually hang out at his house. He has an obstacle course in the backyard and he likes to have her time him while he runs it.”

“It’s not an obstacle course! It’s his training grounds!” Janet says, her voice muffled from behind her door.

“It’s an obstacle course,” Paula whispers to Rose.

“He sounds intense.”

“Oh yeah. He’s training to be a vigilante. Like Batman. Luisa’s been trying to talk him into therapy for years now. Maybe that’s why he stopped coming over so much.”

Rose nods slowly, at a complete loss for words.

“Well, have a good night!” Paula says as she opens the door to her own bedroom. “We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow.”

“What happens tomorrow?”

“Shopping,” Luisa says, exiting the bathroom. “Lots and lots of grocery shopping to prepare for Nochebuena.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad?” Rose asks Luisa hesitantly as she follows her into her bedroom. She looks around with interest. Luisa’s room in their apartment is pretty sparse when it comes to decorations if not when it comes to mess.

Luisa’s childhood bedroom, however, is painted seafoam green, which Rose wasn’t expecting. There are photos of friends and family everywhere. Travel posters and a few paintings hang on the walls. Rose takes a closer look at a framed newspaper article.

“It’s not. It’s just…well, you’ll see. Oh, I can’t believe she hung that up,” Luisa says, leaving her duffel bag to stand next to Rose.

“You were part of the school newspaper?”

Luisa shrugs. “I did a lot of things in high school trying to find my niche. Paula was the star student, top 10 in the graduating class, AP scholar, the works. Janet did tech crew and spent most of her time building sets. I did a bunch of things—cross country, art, newspaper—but I wasn’t really good at any of them.”

“It sounds like you were padding your college application,” Rose says, smiling.

Luisa raises her chin, smiling slightly too. “Well, I got in, didn’t I?”

“And met me.”

“And met you.”

“So it all worked out.”

“I guess it did,” Luisa says, slipping her hand into Rose’s and swinging it back and forth.

Later, in the dark, Rose turns over in bed to face Luisa.

“Hey Lu?”

Luisa hums.

“I don’t know if your family likes me very much.”

“They do,” Luisa murmurs, her voice heavy with sleep. “My mom and Paula like you. Janet doesn’t really like anyone, but she’s left her room while you’re around, so that’s something. You’ll grow on her. Like mold.”

“Thanks,” Rose says flatly.

“Like you did on me,” Luisa says, her voice fading into a mumble.

Rose lays awake, fretting.

* * *

Honestly, there’s nothing Luisa or her sisters could’ve said that would’ve prepared Rose for the force that is Mia grocery shopping.

“Is she always like this?” Rose whispers to Luisa as they watch Mia and the butcher argue over the best cuts of pork.

“The mercado brings it out in her, especially for Nochebuena when everything needs to be perfect. She’s never like this when she goes to Stop ‘n Shop. But don’t worry about it. She and Luza go way back. No one’s getting any fingers lopped off today.”

Paula passes by them to offload her several cans of coconut milk into the cart while Mia and Luza continue to bicker. “Never say never, Luisa. There’s a first time for everything. Janet? Janet!” She seizes Janet and pulls her to them. “Say cheese!” Paula snaps a selfie with Janet, Luisa, Rose, and Mia making threatening gestures at the butcher in the background. “Perfect.”

“What was that for?”

“Evidence,” Paula says breezily. “We’ll need it in case Mom assaults Luza.”

Luisa rolls her eyes. “I’m reasonably sure no one’s losing any fingers during Mom and Luza’s annual big argument.”

“Who’s arguing?” Mia demands. “We’re having a civil discussion.” She goes back to what sounds to Rose like a very angry discussion, complete with raised voices and finger pointing.

“Ooh! Come on,” Luisa says, dragging Rose along. “I see turron!”

“What’s that?”

“These!” Luisa says, holding up a bag of nougat candy. “Abuela used to make them by hand but we usually run out of time, so we get them from the store. Have you ever had any?”

Rose shakes her head.

“You don’t know what you’re missing out on.” Luisa undoes the tie and plucks a bite-sized square from the flimsy plastic bag, holding it up to Rose’s mouth.

Rose delicately takes it from Luisa’s fingers with her teeth. The taste of peanuts, brown sugar, and honey spreads across her tongue.

“Is it good?” Luisa asks, staring intently at her. Her fingers linger at mouth.

Rose nods slowly. Her lips brush against Luisa’s fingers.

Time slows, the faint grocery store music fades, and the world ceases to be outside Luisa.

“Ugh, get a room,” Janet says as she pushes the cart past them.

Rose jumps, breaking the spell.

“We are having a moment!” Luisa hisses.

Janet makes vague vomiting noises without stopping.

They finally return home after stopping at four different grocery stores all across the county and some last-minute Christmas shopping. Rose is ready for a nap, but it’s time for dinner.

Rose finally lets herself be talked into sitting at the counter instead of helping after she extracts a promise from Mia to let her help with the Nochebuena preparations tomorrow.

It’s strange, she thinks, seeing the four of them move around the kitchen so effortlessly. It’s not graceful by any means. It’s a small kitchen, and with so many people working on their separate tasks, there’s bound to be collisions. But it makes Rose ache, seeing how comfortable they are with each other, that Janet can carry a boiling pot of spaghetti to the sink and Paula will set up the colander for her without being asked. Or that Luisa bumps hips with Paula with a “scoot,” to open the fridge, and that Paula will spin the other way to grab a knife so she doesn’t get in the way. Janet says, “Mantequilla!” and Luisa throws her a stick of butter that she catches in one hand while she sautés the onions.

And even though Rose has her own family, who she loves and are perfectly fine in most ways, she wants so much to have what the Alvers have. This easy coexistence that betrays how close they are: the fond ribbing that doesn’t mean anything and open frankness they have while working together. Paula sticks a spoon into Janet’s pot without asking and tastes, smacking her lips a few times. “Needs more garlic,” she tells her.

“Your face needs more garlic,” Janet shoots back, but she stands back to let Paula slide more garlic off her cutting board into the pot anyway.

Mia flits around the kitchen like a hummingbird, simultaneously chopping mushrooms, digging out whatever her daughters need from the cupboard, and washing dishes as she goes.

It makes Rose feel very lonely all of a sudden, even in this crowded kitchen, that she’ll always be on the outside looking in. Before she can get too morose though, she realizes that Luisa was right in one respect: that her family is just like her. If Rose watches carefully enough, she can see a lot of the quirks she’s noticed about Luisa over the last few months. Like that Janet dances at the stove too, although Luisa’s is usually more wiggles than foot shuffling. Or that Paula tosses the knife from hand to hand in between cuts like Luisa does. Even Mia shuts the fridge door by kicking straight back like a donkey when her hands are full like Luisa instead of nudging it shut with a foot like Rose insists everyone else does.

Luisa looks up and catches Rose’s eye, pausing in making a vinaigrette. “Are you okay? You seem a little misty-eyed.”

Rose sniffs. “Yeah, I’m good. The onions are a little strong, that’s all.”

“Paula, stop chopping more onions! You’re making Rose cry!” Luisa shouts over the din.

“No really, it’s fine,” Rose says. “I like caramelized onions.”

Paula cocks her head. “Are you sure?”

Rose nods.

“She says she’s okay with it!” Paula goes back to chopping onions.

Luisa shoots her a worried glance, but Rose smiles. “I’m fine.”

And it’s not a lie.

After dinner and cleaning up, everyone crowds onto the couch.

“Come sit down, Rose!” Mia says, patting the seat next to her.

“What are we doing?” she asks as she sits warily.

“Mom’s obsessed with this telenovela,” Paula says.

“Well, I don’t see you leaving,” Janet says.

Paula punches her in the arm. “That’s because it’s a tradition, you loser.”

“Mom! Paula hit me!”

“Shut up,” Luisa says, waving a hand at them and leaning forward.

The words _Juana la Virgen_ take up the whole screen in loopy, gold script.

Honestly, Rose finds it a little hard to follow in the beginning. The Venezuelan accent isn’t what she’s used to, but Mia fills her in during lulls in a whisper.

“Okay, so that’s Juana. She got artificially inseminated and the father is Mauricio, who owns a fashion magazine. He’s married to Carlota, who hates Juana because she thinks he’s going to leave her for Juana. That’s Francisco. He died during a party and Carlota’s father—that’s him—is trying to frame Mauricio for the murder. Oh, and her father’s trying to seduce Desiree, Francisco’s widow, even though he’s married. And meanwhile, Desiree is falling in love with Mauricio. Any questions?”

Rose narrows her eyes in thought. “This sounds vaguely familiar, like a story I’ve heard before but all mixed up.”

Janet snorts. “All these telenovelas are basically the same.”

Mia shushes her as someone falls down three flights of stairs and gets amnesia.

Halfway through the episode, Rose, Mia, and Luisa pass around a bowl of popcorn Janet was kind enough to get up and make and gasping at every new twist.

“She didn’t,” Rose whispers when the credits start to roll.

“I know, right?” Mia says, shaking her head in disappointment. “I expected better from her.”

“But she didn’t have a choice! She was being manipulated by her father!” Paula interjects.

“Anyone else get kind of a gay vibe from Carlota?” Luisa asks absently.

Janet scoffs. “You think all female characters are gay.”

“No, there’s something about Carlota. Do you see it, Rose?”

“I’m not sure. I’ve only seen one episode.”

“We’ll watch another one soon. Now shoo. Bedtime. You know we have a big day tomorrow.”

* * *

It is still dark out when Rose hears the door open and a hissed, “Wake up, Lu.”

Luisa groans.

“Shh, don’t wake up Rose!” another voice whispers.

Unfortunately for the interlopers, Rose is the lighter sleeper between the two of them. “Wuzgoinon?” she says groggily, squinting at the shadows hovering over the bed.

“Look what you did! Mom told us to let her sleep in!” the second voice says.

“It’s not my fault Luisa won’t wake up!”

Rose yawns. “Oh, hang on a second. This always works for me.” She grabs her phone from the nightstand and shines the flashlight right in Luisa’s face.

Luisa rolls over to shield her face from the light. “Asshole,” she moans.

“Nice try, but we’ll have to resort to Plan B,” Paula says, not bothering to tamp down on her glee.

She and Janet nod at each other before they each seize an ankle and pull Luisa right off the bed and drag her out of the bedroom and down the hall. Rose can hear Luisa cursing and claiming that she’s awake echo throughout the house.

She shivers, thinking longingly of burrowing back under the covers, but Luisa’s mentioned that preparing for Nochebuena is very important and ducking out after she insisted being a part of it last night is a dick move. She pulls her robe tighter around herself as she follows Luisa and her sisters to the kitchen.

“Okay, listen up,” Paula says when Rose squeezes into the kitchen. She spares Rose a brief disapproving glance, presumably for her tardiness, before she taps a whiteboard with a pointer she seemingly conjured out of nowhere. “We always, always run behind so this year, not only are we starting at the asscrack of dawn—”

“No kidding,” Luisa mutters, stifling a yawn.

“—also taken the liberty of drawing up a schedule,” Paula continues, as if there was no interruption. Each row belongs to a person. At the top there’s half hour increments. In the boxes are your set tasks. Any questions?”

Janet raises a hand. “Yeah, why are you so anal?”

Paula smacks her with her pointer. “Are there any _relevant_ questions?”

When no one says anything, Paula rolls the whiteboard to the dining room. “In that case, chop chop. We’re already running six minutes behind schedule!”

As nice as watching the Alver family dance around each other from a distance, being in the thick of it is something else entirely.

“Fore!”

“Ow!” Rose says, rubbing her head.

“I said fore,” Janet says, stooping to pick up the onion as Luisa swings a cutting board over her bent head.

“No, I need apple cider vinegar, not regular,” Mia says in the background.

“That would’ve been nice to know ahead of time! I don’t know if we have any apple cider vinegar,” Paula replies.

“No wait, here’s a little bit!” Janet says, shaking a nearly empty bottle over by the cupboard. “How much do you need?”

It is overwhelming being in the midst of three different conversations and trying not to spill anything while moving from end of the kitchen to the other while bumping into at least two people.

“Hey, where does this lime juice go?” Rose throws the question out in general.

“Pour it in this bowl with everything else,” Mia says. “We’ll have to marinate the lechon asado for at least an hour before roasting.”

“I’ve factored in for at least three hours if you get started on flan now, Mom,” Paula says as she passes by with a huge mixing bowl.

“Rose, can you get me some eggs?” Luisa asks. “I need three.”

“Why do you need three?” Janet scoffs.

“I’m making a triple batch. Do you want just two sugar cookies? That’s what I thought.”

“How’s the arroz con leche coming, Janet?” Mia asks.

“Fine, Mom. I’m stirring the rice for eighteen minutes, just like I have every other year.”

“Just checking!”

“Do you need help with the pork rinds?” Janet asks Mia. “I have some time while I wait for the rice to boil.”

They break for a quick lunch of Cuban sandwiches Luisa’s thrown together, which Rose scarfs down, before they head back into the kitchen. Even though they’re supposed to finish by a respectable six, they don’t stop cooking until nine.

Although Paula is mildly upset, Luisa nudges her with an elbow. “This is pretty good. Usually, we don’t finish everything until nearly midnight.”

“And that’s with an extra pair of hands,” Mia adds, smiling at Rose.

Rose looks at the table, which is groaning under the weight of everything. There’s fried plantains, yuca fritters, arroz con leche, the ever present black beans and rice, bunelos (which are basically mini donuts), fried pork rinds, sugar cookies, flan, and in the center of the table, the pork roast.

“Well, what are we waiting for? Should we get started?” Mia asks.

“Wait! Let me take a photo.” Luisa snaps fifteen photos with all of them and various angles before she says, “Okay. Now we can eat.”

Rose can’t begin to describe how nice it is. Family dinners at her house are quiet affairs. Her parents don’t even really care if there are people missing. Rose hasn’t seen her half-brother, Derek, in years. But she imagines Mia would start crying if one of her girls couldn’t make it to Nochebuena. Eating the meal is as hectic as cooking it was.

Janet plays old-timey Latin Christmas music while they all bicker over which cuts of pork they want. While Janet and Luisa are arguing over how sweet the sugar cookies are, Mia turns to Rose and asks, “So Rose, now you know what a traditional Cuban Christmas is like. What are the holidays at your family like?”

Rose grins. “Nothing like this. In a good way,” she adds when Mia’s face starts to fall. “My family isn’t very close, so being here with a family that cooks Christmas dinner all together has been surreal in the best way.”

“I know you’ve only been here a few days, but it’s been such a pleasure. You’re welcome to come back anytime you’d like. You’ve been so lovely.”

Rose ducks her head, her ears burning. “Oh, thank you. You’ve been such wonderful hosts too. I’m so lucky I was invited.”

“Well, I think you’re a good influence on Luisa.”

“Really?”

Right on cue, Luisa says, “Hey!” and shoves Paula when she notices her stealing cookies off Luisa’s plate. “Get your own! I made 72!”

“But they taste so much better stolen!” Paula says, her mouth full.

“Unbelievable,” Janet says, shaking her head as Luisa shoves the rest of her cookies into her mouth to stop Paula from stealing any more.

“It’s so nice having all my girls together again.” Mia beams.

At midnight exactly, everyone drops what they’re doing and crowds around the Christmas tree.

“I hope you all stuck to the $20 and under rule,” Mia reminds everyone before she distributes presents.

“Thanks, Rose!” Janet says, a real smile on her face. “I never did find out who drank my chai tea." She scowls. "But mark my words, I’ll find out.”

Paula gets Rose a picture frame with the awkward selfie from the grocery store. Janet's trying to get out of the frame, Luisa's eyes are closed, and Rose looks markedly uncomfortable. Mia can be seen making a visibly rude hand gesture in the background. Paula is the only one who looks good.

“Aww, lame! Why would you get her a picture frame?” Luisa says.

Mia swats at her. “Be nice to your sister.”

“I thought it would be nice for your apartment to have a photo of us since it’s obvious Luisa won’t take the initiative to do it herself,” Paula says cattily.

“Ooh, burn!” Janet cackles.

“Mooom!” Luisa whines.

“I’m not taking sides in this, but she’s right, you know,” Mia says, sipping her tea.

“Mom!”

* * *

The rest of the week passes in a flash. Christmas Day is all about cleaning up the mess they were all too lazy to do the night before. Once they finish, they binge watch the rest of the _Juana la Virgen_.

In the filmy days between Christmas and New Year’s, Luisa convinces everyone to get together to watch Hallmark moves with Rose.

“No, you don’t have to—” Rose starts, but Luisa isn’t having any of it.

“This is what you wanted to do on your winter break, right? So scoot over.”

So they spend a whole day watching cheesy Hallmark romcoms and eating Chinese food. Mia gets really into it. Paula rolls her eyes and tells them she’s not a romantic, but she does sit through a few. Janet doesn’t comment, but Rose notices her tearing up at the end of one of them. She’s wise enough not to say anything.

On New Year’s Eve, they spend all day cleaning like crazy and despite Rose’s confusion, saving the dirty mop water.

“It’ll make sense later,” Mia says. “Trust me.”

Once they’re done cleaning, Mia lays out paper and straw. Rose and the girls spend the rest of the day making little scarecrows which Janet informs her they’ll be lighting on fire later. Rose thinks she’s joking but the matching gleeful expressions on Paula and Luisa’s faces assure her that Janet is being very serious.

As midnight nears, _Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve_ is put on TV, but no one watches. Janet bundles up to check on the fireworks.

“Fireworks?” Rose asks.

“Well yeah,” Janet says. “How else are we supposed to celebrate New Year’s? Wanna come? It’s pretty small, nothing fancy.”

“No, I trust your judgment,” Rose says.

At 11:59, they all count down the seconds with Ryan Seacrest. At midnight, Paula tears through the house with the dirty mop water and throws it out in the most dramatic fashion possible. Then they all go outside to burn their little scarecrows in the street. Paula and Luisa laugh manically and dance around as their dolls burn.

Once their dolls are nothing but charred husks, Janet sets off the fireworks. Rose isn’t sure what her idea of “nothing fancy” is, but it’s clear their definitions differ. The entire neighborhood shakes with the huge fireworks display that Rose is reasonably sure is illegal in New Jersey.

As they all stare up at the fireworks, Luisa nuzzles into Rose’s neck. “I hope you had a nice time with my family.”

“The best,” Rose says.

“So you admit there was nothing to be afraid of.”

Rose sighs. “You were right.”

Luisa laughs. “They love you, naturally.”

And they kiss as another one of Janet’s fireworks explode in the sky above them.


End file.
